PureDWTS Season 20, Week 2 – Power Rankings

Pleasantly surprised this  week – not only with the scoring and the judging, but with the fact that, for the 2nd week in a row, there were no “phone-ins”: every last couple came out and gave it their all, even if it didn’t quite pan out the way they planned (sorry, Chris).  Judging seemed pretty consistent and the scores seemed to match the critiques – one would think this should happen EVERY week, but it’s becoming more and more of a rarity these days…so for tonight, I am happy 🙂 But that could change next week…

Somewhat sad to see Redfoo & Emma go, but I’ll just leave it at this: I think staying in the competition would have potentially been quite stressful on both of them, as I think they may have forgotten to have fun a few times in rehearsal this week.  Ultimately, though, Foo went out on a pretty high note – he was definitely the most improved from last week to this week, and he did show some serious potential…although I think he probably would have struggled just to get the votes week after week, because I just don’t see too many middle-aged, conservative-leaning housewives being huge LMFAO fans 😎

1.) Nastia & Derek – I think Rumer & Val may have gotten a bit of a gut check after watching this dance – they ain’t the only ones who want that trophy 🙂 This was a great, almost technically-perfect rumba – Nastia’s got the lines and the feet and the arms and the posture and the extension.  Here’s the problem I have: she seems to have a lot of walls up, and the chemistry between she & Derek was almost non-existent.  I guess the best way I could describe her facial expressions is “girl who has never been kissed and doesn’t quite know whether to close her eyes or keep them open” 🙂 And another observation: I think Nastia may be an unfortunate sufferer of “resting bitch face” – I think her neutral face is just so serious and calm that it may come across as a tad standoffish…and I wish I had some advice for her on that, but some people just aren’t as smiley as others.  Maybe stand in front of a mirror and practice smiling? I dunno 😛 Hoping Derek can work with her on emotional connection, because the technique is there – she just needs to get a tad more vulnerable.

2.) Willow & Mark – I think my exact words on Twitter after these two danced were “God bless Willow, she forced the judges to finally acknowledge that there were other contenders this season besides Rumer!” And thank jeebus that Willow was able to break out of the slightly boring mold she was presented in last week – glad to see Mark back into “Mark-mode” with such a creative dance.  Loved the homage to the music video, and that this wasn’t an over-the-top-sexy Argentine tango.  One minor critique: Willow seemed a little soft in her knees, and there were a few moments were her posture was…wonky.  Not necessarily slouchy, but…slightly lopsided? Argentine tango hold & posture is definitely different, and I think  she may have confused “leaning into your partner” with “pass out on your partner” a few times.  But a very minor problem that’s easy to fix, and I’m glad she seemed to come out with a lot more confidence this week – helped her sell this performance a lot better than last week’s.  Good to see her showing us that she may be young, but she’s every bit as hungry as Rumer, Riker, & Nastia 🙂

3.) Rumer & Val – Rumer can dance, no doubt – and this cha-cha was pretty damn good on her part.  She’s got the posture and the feet, and she can sell the performance – plus she’s got a great body.  But she got out-techniqued by Nastia this week, I think – because one problem I see with her (and this seems to be one that a lot of leggier women have) is that she doesn’t close her thighs all the way when doing Latin.  It was probably only noticeable to a trained eye when watching this cha-cha, but when she gets a dance like samba or rumba where things are slowed down? It’s going to become more obvious.  Another slight warning I have for her and Val: they’ve now done two rather edgy performances in a row – I would start thinking about how to show the viewers her goofy, down-to-earth side in the coming weeks, or else she may come across unrelatable.  We’ve seen the edgy, angsty, and sexy – now show us the happy, carefree, and goofy side that Rumer says is the real her.

4.) Riker & Allison – Riker handled his dance pretty masterfully for the 2nd week in a row – which just kinda drives the point home for me that he’s probably got more dance experience than he’s letting on.  Posture was good, frame was good, and he turns and moves his feet like someone that has done it in the past. I don’t mind dance experience – just don’t lie to me about it.  Few other minor gripes (and sorry, but they have more to do with Allison than with Riker): ditch all the hip-hop-esque arm stylings that accent certain beats in the song (gets a tad corny at times) and try to expand your repertoire of steps – saw some more repetition of just a few basic steps this week.  Riker’s still very much a contender – but I’m still concerned that Allison’s lack of experience is ultimately what’s going to do them in.

5.) Noah & Sharna – Glad that Noah was able to get samba out of the way early in the game, because he probably would have gotten scored a lot harder had he done this same routine later in the season.  I’m still in awe that he is able to move like he does, and that Sharna is clever enough to choreograph around the fact that he has no left arm to lead her with (which I actually think is more of an obstacle than his leg). That being said – not a whole lot of bounce to this samba, and not a whole lot of samba content, if we’re being honest.  But I still found myself very much entertained by the whole thing – even though there wasn’t a whole lot to it, I was still transfixed, and I loved how he committed to the entertainment value of it.  It was kinda like “Yeah, I have no arm, and most of my leg is gone, too – but look at how much fun I’m having! And I’m cute as a button!”  LOVED that they surprised him with his gf.  The guy just seems genuinely humbled by this whole show.  I’m curious to see how he does with a ballroom dance, though – and has anyone heard when he’s getting his new prosthetic arm?

6.) Michael & Peta – I think it unfortunately showed that Mike & Peta had pretty limited rehearsal time this week, and while I still really liked their foxtrot, it didn’t have quite the same fun, laid-back vibe that made their cha-cha so appealing to me.  Mike nailed every step – nothing got missed, and he stayed on-time.  But he lost some of the entertainment value because he looked like he was stuck in his own head, trying to remember all of the steps.  The facial expressions got a tad pained at times, and some of the steps seemed a little stiff & robotic.  Mike, honey – BREATHE.  This is supposed to be fun for you to do, and fun for me to watch – let’s keep that in mind, k? Cause honestly, I really, really like you – and I think you’re the dark horse right now.  Hopefully they’ll have more time to rehearse and get Mike comfortable with their dance next week – he’s got the potential to knock it out of the park, if he just relaxes.

7.) Patti & Artem – What do you do when you’re 70 years old, have a bum foot, and wanna have the crowd on their feet despite not being able to move much without pain? Throw on a fur coat, grab some troupe members (and a couple muscle-y co-contestants ), and groove to a club anthem from over 12 years ago.  I gotta hand it to Patti – she stole the show for me tonight, despite not doing whole lotta dancing and having a song that is nowhere near appropriate for a salsa 😛 Heidi texted me after she danced and said “I wanna be just like Patti when I grow up!” And really, while she may not have danced a whole lot – the little bit she did do was actually pretty respectable.  Plus I’m all about fellow gals with big knockers incorporating the “I’ve gotta hold ’em in place so they don’t bounce all over the place!’ hand bra move into their routines 😀 Not sure how long  antics like this will last, but I can’t blame her for going this route this week – was a totally fun way to distract from the fact that her mobility is limited.

8.) Robert & Kym – Mama Spence totally ships these two – I think she calls them “Kymbert”.  I couldn’t really care much less if they are or aren’t dating – they’re adults, that’s their business.  But I do think they’re kind of adorable together 🙂 They just seem to have really good, wholesome interactions – no tension, no frustration…they just work through any issues they’ve got.  And really, I didn’t see too many major bumps in this dance, either – once again, Robert kept up, and I think I only caught one tiny footwork bobble.  He’s a tad awkward with his arms and hands, but beyond that, the guy definitely has potential, and just a great energy about him when he’s on stage.  Also glad that Kym opted to take a break from the show for a little while there – I remember thinking she looked really worn down and exhausted after Ingo’s season 2 years ago, and now she seems to be refreshed and very much re-invested in the show…and I think Robert’s the perfect partner to ease her back into things.  Could see these two lasting awhile, if they keep up the hard work.

9.) Suzanne & Tony – Praise the lord, Suzanne was able to prove that 68-year-olds can hang with the yougin’s! While I was one of the few that didn’t think their cha-cha last week was terrible, I was whispering under my breath before this one: “Ok Suzanne, PLEASE show everyone else that you’ve got potential!” And she delivered – no missed steps in this jive, and I was actually pleasantly surprised at some of her technique, too – nice bounce, and her feet were pointed nicely.  Seemed to get a little low-energy in places, so I think that’s something she & Tony need to work on in the coming weeks; and the fact that she was one of the last two standing last night with Redfoo makes me worry that they might not be getting as many votes as TPTB think they should be.  So I’m curious to see what we get out of these two moving forward – I think this was definitely a step in the right direction 🙂

10.) Chris & Witney – Erm. Well I don’t think anyone can accuse Chris of not putting 110% into every routine – he was certainly trying last night! Unfortunately, I just don’t think cha-cha is his strong suit – he seemed to lose timing and forget some of his choreography pretty quickly, and then seemed to get stuck in his head trying to remember the rest of his routine for the remainder of the dance.  If Michael was a little bit stuck in his head last night – Chris was totally stuck in his head.  I was also a little puzzled at Witney during their rehearsals – Chris certainly doesn’t strike me as being as high-maintenance as Cody or Alfonso, and Witney still seemed to be getting really, really flustered with him.  Just a bit odd to me.  Also not a fan of this song – maybe I’m one of the few that gets hung up on lyrics, but if I “knew my rent was going to be late about a week ago”, I certainly wouldn’t be spending what little money I had in the club.  Fiscal responsibility, kids. 😛 But I digress – kinda starting to wonder if Chris & Wit are going to be leaving us either next week or the week after.  Just seems like trouble in paradise.

11.) Charlotte & Keo – If Redfoo was the most improved from last week to this week, Charlotte was the 2nd most-improved – I actually thought her cha-cha was adorable and she sold it well 🙂 Still a few posture and leg placement issues, but a HUGE improvement over last week.  I also hope she felt the love from those of us that DON’T think she’s “nothing more than a pair of boobs” and recognize that she’s a human being with feelings and emotions – some of the absolute filth I saw her dealing with on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram was inexcusable. And this is coming from someone that gets accused by Maks & Val fans of being in a coven of witches on a fairly regular basis 😉 I’m guessing that Charlotte was in that uber-close bottom 2 with Redfoo, so she likely just won’t be able to scrounge up the votes to get past Chris next week; although I found it quite refreshing to see a lot of other folks like me throwing votes her way last night as a show of solidarity.  I’m just glad she got to dance another week, after having a breakthrough this week 🙂

So you’ve heard my thoughts – what are yours? Also, be sure to check out “Who’s Dancing What?” which is now up earlier than ever, in order to allow for more frequent updating 😉